Candy From A Baby

I took on a self-imposed challenge earlier this week to find at least two instances of Bush loosening environmental regulations per week. (I’m giving myself bonus points for moves that would hurt national parks or endangered species.)

So far it’s like taking candy from a baby, it’s so easy. I’ve gotten several emails from environmental groups with their lists of recent grievances. (See the extended entry for the one sent by the National Parks Conservation Association.) And I just stumbled on an L.A. Times article called, “Bush angers environmentalists with last-minute rule changes.” Jackpot!

Most of what the article lists I already knew about, but I had willed myself into forgetting Bush’s move to allow more mining waste to flow into rivers and streams. The regulation is the only limit on how much mountaintop removal mining can occur how close to streams. Mountaintop removal is a practice so destructive that virtually no one outside the coal industry supports it. It is what it sounds like: blowing up mountains to get to the coal underneath. The mountain rubble and toxic remnants of processing the coal are then dumped into mountain streams, killing off an entire ecosystem.

And, as if to taunt the growing public concern about factory farming and the greenhouse gases and foul odors it creates, Bush is also pushing to exempt factory farms from air pollution reporting.

Overall, Bush has pushed 53 “midnight regulations” through the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the last three weeks. His rate is nearly double Clinton’s, though Bubba was much criticized for his last-minute wrangling.

More midnight regulations, courtesy of NPCA, after the jump.

Guns in Parks: Final rule expected before the end of the year that will allow for concealed weapons to be carried within national parks in states where concealed carry is permitted. NPCA and other park advocacy groups are strongly opposed to this policy, and believe the current policy of requiring guns to be unloaded and stored while being transported in park units should be retained.

BLM Oil/Gas Leasing in Utah: The Bureau of Land Management has expanded an earlier proposal to award new oil and gas leases in southern Utah to include sites adjacent to Canyonlands and Arches National Parks and Dinosaur National Monument. The Park Service has strongly objected both to many of the proposed leases near the parks and to the lack of timely consultation with NPS by the BLM. This controversy has received major national publicity in recent days, and appears to be an effort to accelerate leasing in these sensitive areas before this administration leaves office. We recommend the new leasing be limited in scope to the earlier version.

Uranium Mining/Grand Canyon: In response to the threat of new uranium leases within two miles of Grand Canyon National Park, this past summer the House Natural Resources Committee passed a mining withdrawal resolution covering more than one million acres of federal lands under the authority of the Federal Lands Policy Management Act. The Interior Department has refused to act to withdraw the lands in question; the new administration should move ahead with the withdrawal.

Yellowstone Winter Use/Snowmobiles: In response to two recent court decisions concerning the Park Service’s Yellowstone winter use plan, NPS is now considering allowing up to 720 snowmobiles per day in Yellowstone National Park for the next three years, and up to 50/day in Grand Teton NP. NPCA recommends no more than 260 snowmobiles/day for Yellowstone (the average for the past five years) as a temporary one year plan, with the Grand Teton limit only being in effect for one year, rather than being made permanent as NPS suggests. We strongly support a phase-out of all snowmobile use in the two parks.

New NEPA Rule: The administration has adopted a reinterpretation of the National Environmental Policy Act for the Department of Interior that allows for broader “categorical exclusions” of the requirement that agencies prepare a Environmental Impact Statement or Environmental Assessment on proposed actions. This new interpretation would mean the proposed “guns in parks” rule could be adopted without an EIS or EA. The previous NEPA policy for DOI should be reinstated.

Proposed ESA Regulation: The regulation changes proposed under the Endangered Species Act would allow federal agencies to decide themselves—without consultation with the Fish & Wildlife Service—whether their proposed actions will threaten a species listed under the Act. We are very concerned about the potential impact of this proposal because the Fish & Wildlife Service’s expertise is important to decisions impacting park wildlife, and other agencies such as the BLM and the Office of Surface Mining will be able to take actions more easily without serious considerations of species concerns. This process for determining ESA compliance should continue.

EPA Class I Clean Air Protection—EPA has just adopted a new rule later that would weaken the “Prevention of Significant Deterioration” protections mandated under the Clean Air Act for many units of the park system. NPCA and other clean air advocates strongly oppose this proposal, as did NPS and most EPA regional offices. This decision should be reconsidered by the new administration.

NPS Revision of Air Quality Guidance to Federal Agency Land Managers: The Park Service proposed in July to revise the Federal Land Managers’ Air Quality Related Values Work Group (FLAG) guidance document that establishes procedures for evaluating air pollution impacts in Class 1 park units. We are awaiting a final document. NPCA is concerned that some of the changes may lessen protection for Class 1 parks.

Office of Surface Mining Regulation on Excess Spoil and Coal Mine Waste: The federal Office of Surface Mining is in the process of finalizing an administrative rule change that would allow for stream destruction and fill during strip mining operations. NPCA is concerned this rule change would result in damage to more than 2,000 miles of headwater streams in the US, including lands within the Big South Fork National River, the Gauley River National Recreation Area, and the New River Gorge National River. It is important the new administration reconsider this decision.

BLM Geothermal EIS: The Bureau of Land Management has recently issued a final Environmental Impact Statement for future geothermal leasing, with a Record of Decision expected very soon. The standard in the proposed new rule would make it difficult to argue that a geothermal lease should not be granted due to adverse impacts on park resources. NPCA and other groups are very concerned this will result in new geothermal leases that will impact Yellowstone National Park and as many as 30 other park units. The incoming administration should assure that future geothermal leasing fully considers and avoids adverse impacts on park geothermal features.

Alaska Mineral Leasing: The BLM has just announced its intent to open for mineral leasing about one million acres in southwest Alaska adjacent to Lake Clark and Katmai National Parks, and has recommended that Secretary Kempthorne approve this leasing plan. There is strong opposition from a coalition of organizations concerned about the likely impacts on fish and wildlife and the two parks. If this proposal is approved by Kempthorne, the new administration should assess all options for preventing leasing in this area.

Fish & Wildlife Service Proposed Gray Wolf Rule: The US Fish & Wildlife Service has a proposed rule concerning the Northern Rocky Mountain Gray Wolf Population that would remove a portion of the population from the federal list of endangered and threatened species. NPCA is concerned this would have a negative impact on the Yellowstone and Grand Teton wolf populations. The new administration should not allow this proposed reduction in protection for this species.